Trouble Begins
by Blaise White
Summary: Slade finds a new target, but for surprising reasons. Find out a little more about Slade's past, and his target's. Chapter five is up, so be ready to R&R! This is better than it sounds.
1. Kidnapped

Story number three. I'm writing like crazy!

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story, except for Ananova. She is of my own design.

Ananova was lying in a gutter. She was somewhere in Gotham, that was all she knew. She didn't even know the men who killed her parents. All she knew was that it was raining, and that she was alone. Then a shadow came over her, it was Batman, the famous Batman.

"Where do you live?" He asked.

"I don't know. I don't even know where I am." Ananova said.

"Who are your parents?" Batman asked.

"Doesn't matter, their dead." Ananova said. Batman looked down at the wet child.

"How old are you?" He asked.

"I'm six." She replied. Batman picked her up and took her with him.

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Six years later, Robin is a Teen Titan, when he left he took Ananova with him. Her birthday was in about a month, so soon she could be a titan as well. Ananova had long shining red hair and green eyes. She was about the average height for girls her age. She usually dressed in a black t-shirt with a band logo on the front. Today was Metallica. Robin was training and Ananova was watching him. Then the alarm sounded off. Robin and Ananova ran to what could be called the living room. Cinder Block was attacking the city. The other Titans ran off to save the city, Ananova stayed behind. After a while she went out to play soccer. Ananova was a soccer fanatic. She was outside when someone came up behind her and put their hand over her mouth. Ananova tried to get away but whoever it was had a strong grip on her. Then he hit her over the head. Ananova's last thought before she passed out was, _Robin!_

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The Titans were out getting pizza after their victory. All of a sudden Robin sat up and looked around.

"What is troubling you Robin?" Starfire asked.

"I think I just heard Ananova calling to me, she sounded like she was in trouble. We have to go back to the Tower." He said. So all the Titans rushed back to the tower. What they saw outside was not good. Ananova's soccer ball was lying on one of the rocks. She never left her soccer ball outside.

"I did a scan of the tower; no one is in there, good or bad." Cyborg said.

"We have to look anyway." Robin said and ran in. The other Titans followed. They searched the tower top to bottom, Ananova was no where to be found.

The titans met in the living room. Just when Cyborg walked in Slade appeared on the screen.

"Hello Titans." He said.

"We don't have time Slade." Robin said.

"Looking for someone?" Slade asked.

"Where is she?" Robin asked.

"Right here." Slade stepped aside to reveal to of his robots holding Ananova between them. She looked up and her eyes met Robin's. Robin could see the terror in her eyes.

"Let her go!" Starfire said.

"No, I don't think I will. She just got here after all." Slade said. Then he was gone. Robin banged his fists on the counter.

"Alright, let her go." Slade commanded. The two robots holding Ananova let go of her. Ananova started to fall forward. Slade caught her before she hit the ground.

"What are you going to do with me?" Ananova asked.

"Not much, you are going to help me control the titans. They care about you; they would do anything to get you back." Slade explained. And he was right the titans would go to any lengths to get Ananova back.


	2. Flashbacks

Robin had to get Ananova back. She was like his little sister. He thought he knew why Slade wanted her. Or at least part of why. Ananova was a little psychic. She never noticed, but he did. Mabey Slade did too. It seemed like only yesterday Batman had carried the soaking six year old Ananova through the front door.

FLASHBACK!

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Batman sheltered Ananova from the rain and took her home. She had a strange head injury that needed care. He took her straight down to the batcave. When he set her down on the exsmination table he noticed she had fallen asleep. Poor girl. He thought. He treated her injury and took her back into the main house. She had faced many hardships. Especially when the Joker found out his identity. He had kidnapped Ananova three times and held her hostage. But through all that she still wanted to go with Robin to Jump City.

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And I let her down. Robin thought. I can't believe I was so stupid!

"We have to get her back. No telling what Slade will do to her." Robin said.

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Ananova looked around. She was in a strange place. It reminded her somewhat of the Joker's hideout. While he held her prisoner he treated her well enough. But who had her now? What horrors awaited her? She was about to find out.

"Now, lets examine you shall we?" Slade came up to Ananova. Out of reflex Ananova stepped back. Slade reached out and grabbed her arm, he pulled her closer. "I now of your powers. I also know that you don't know you have them."

"What powers? I don't have any powers." Ananova barely managed a whisper. She had no idea what he was talking about.

"You, my dear, are psychic. You have great abilities and I tend to teach you to use them." Slade explained.

"I'm not psychic. I never have been. Please, let go." Ananova whispered.

"You are. I've been watching you for quite some time. I have seen, samples of what you can do." Slade tightened his grasp on Ananova's arm. He made her look straight at him. He could see the fear in her eyes. And he relished it. Nothing pleased him more than to see fear written on someone's face. "I know you can make me let go. Try."

"Please, you're hurting me. Let go."Ananova whispered. She was truly frightened. And she knew Slade knew. Something about him seemed familiar though. Ananova thought she recognized him from somewhere, like she seen him briefly somewhere. It must have been a long time ago. Then she knew.

FLASHBACK

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Ananova was at home with her parents. Then all of a sudden a man in a mask came in through the window. He quickly killed Ananova's parents. Then he turned to her. She looked up to his face with fear. Then she passed out. When she woke up she wasn't in her house anymore. She was cold and wet. She had no idea where she was. Then she saw Batman.

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"Y-You're the one who killed my parents." Ananova realized.

"Yes, I am. I'll tell you why later." Slade replied. Ananova passed out.

When she wole up she was sitting on Slade's lap. He had picked her up and didn't have anywhere to put her so he went to sit in his chair with her. He looked down at her and realized she was awake.

"Did you have a nice nap?" He asked.

Ananova jumped suddenly, but Slade held her in place.

"Don't worry, I won't hurt you. There is no need, yet." Slade said. Once agian he saw the fear in Ananova's eyes.

"Please, I want to go home." Ananova whispered.

"But my my dear child you are home." Slade replied. 


	3. Slade's Confession

Chapter 3. Slade's confession.

"What do you mean? I'm not home, home is Titan's tower." Ananova said.

"I'm going to tell you the reason I killed your 'parents'. When I was younger, I fell in love with a beautiful woman. Her name was Angel, which suited her well. I married her and we were going to have a baby. But Angel died during the birth. I was left with nothing and had to put my baby girl up for adoption. With nothing I turned to the life I have now. When I was ready I went back for my baby. I had been watching her, and knew where she was. I went and asked for her back. The parents who adopted her would not give her to me. So I came in cover of darkness and tried agian. When they refused I killed them and went to get my girl who was six at the time. She fainted in my arms. I carried her to Gotham and almost all the way here, but some one interfered. The Batman. I was forced to return without her. I have been waiting patiently for her to return." Slade put his hand under Ananova's chin and made her look him in the eye. "And now she has. I am your father. I waited so long for you, and now I have you back." Slade explained.

Ananova couldn't believe it. Wouldn't believe it. This man was not her father. He couldn't be. But yet she knew he was. "Why, why didn't they tell me? How can this be?" Tears sprang to Ananova's eyes. She cried into Slade's shoulder while he comforted her. She hated him, but at the same time, loved him. It would take awhile for her to adjust to this new revelation.

"They probably were going to tell you when you were older. But that doesn't matter now. I have you back, that is all that really matters. I followed you in Gothom, I knew all that happened to you. It tore me apart those three times the Joker kidnapped you off the street. One was just random wasn't it?" Slade said. Ananova nodded. FLASHBACK.

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Ananova was ten. She was walking home form school when a bank alarm sounded off. A bank that Ananova had to pass to get home. Ananova ran to see what was going on. She didn't pay any attention to where she was going when she ran straight into someone.

"Sorry." Ananova said and got up to run again. When she looked up she saw who she had run into. It was The Joker. Ananova froze. The Joker thought for a moment and grabbed her arm and jerked her in front of him. Ananova screamed and tried to get away from him but he held too tight. The cops came up. Comissioner Gordan was leading them.

"Let her go Joker." He said.

"No I don't think I will thank-you." Replied the Joker. He picked up Ananova and ran off with her. When they stopped he realized who had with him.

"Well there's an unexpected bonus." The joker laughed. It took the Batman three days to get Ananova back.

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Ananova looked up at Slade. Her eyes still glistened with tears. Slade wiped them off her face gently.

"You said something about powers. I'm listening now." Ananova said.

"Very well. I will teach you how to use them." Slade replied. He lifted up Anonava and set her down on the ground. Then he got up himself. He led her down to an empty area. "Now close your eyes and look deep." Slade instructed. So Ananova did as he said. What she felt was immense power. She reached out and found she couldn't quite grasp the power.

"What good are these powers if I can't use them?" Ananova asked.

"You must know what to do. I will teach you. The first step has already been done. You know you have these powers. The next step is to bring them forth. Try to move this stone from my hand." Slade said as he picked up a small stone off the ground. He held out his hand. "Focus on the stone, see only the stone. Picture it rising into the air. And it will."

Ananova nodded and focused on the small pebble. She pictured it rising clearly. It started to move, but would do no more. Ananova tried agian. She raised it half an inch off of Slade's palm. A wave of joy made Ananova break concentraition. The stone fell back down. But still Ananova had done it. She ran and hugged Slade around hi waist. He was startled at first but he hugged her back. "I did it! I can't believe it! thank you!" Ananova whispered.

"It was not me. I only told you what to do, you did the rest. Now let's try agian" Slade said. They worked on this for many hours. Finally Ananova could make the stone fly all around the room. Then they started on bigger things. Finally they stopped when Ananova nearly passed out from exhaustion. Slade picked her up and carried her into another room. He laid her on the bed that was in the far corner. Poor Ananova was already asleep. Slade quietly crept out and closed the door behind him. 


	4. Progress

Ananova woke up a couple hours after dawn. She sat up on the bed and stretched her mouth open in a yawn. She got off the bed and saw a tray of food lying on the floor in front of the door. She bent down and picked it up. It didn't have much, but what there was looked good. She sat on the bed with the tray in front of her and ate. When she was done she wiped her mouth on her arm and got up. SHe wished she had a brush, but of course she didn't. So she ran her fingers through her hair in an attempt to 'brush' it.

She walked over to the door and tried to open it but found it was locked from the outside. It was then that she was reminded that she was a prisoner in Slade's fortress. She sighed and sat on the bed and stared at her foot. Slade didn't even give her anything to do to occupy herself while she was locked up. After a while she laid on her back with her hands under her head staring at the ceiling finding patterns in the cracks. She always found it fascinating how the shapes changed when you looked at them differently.

A couple hours later, she heard the door open and sat up. She stared as the door opened seemingly with no one behind it. Curious she walked out and found herself in the main room of the fort. She looked around for the first time since arriving. What she saw fascinated her. One wall was entirely t.v. screens, and the room was piled high with junk, all perfect for hiding.

"Good morning Anna." Slade said. Ananova jumped at the sound of his voice. "Ready to start mastering your powers?" Slade slowly walked over to Ananova with his hands clasped behind his back. Ananova nodded, swallowing hard. "Good. Now, try to lift yourself into the air." Ananova concentraited on doing just that, but couldn't lift up. "Try harder. You can do it." Ananova closed her eyes and imagined lifting into the air and flying around the fort. Soon she began to rise. When she opened her eyes her feet were completely off the ground. She slowly lifted higher into the air. Sudden joy filled her at being able to tap in and use these powers. She was careful not to break her concentraition. "Good, now come back down."

Ananova quickly landed on her feet exactly where she was before. She was extremly proud of herself for doing what others could only dream about except for Starfire and Raven of course. "I did it! I can't believe it!" Ananova jumped high into the air in her joy, and pure happiness.

"Yes you did. But that's only the tip of the iceburg. You can do so much more. Now, let's go back to moving other objects." They practiced at that until Ananova could lift everything in the fort, except for the fort itself. Then Ananova worked on levitation. Ananova could get up to the ceiling, and could get a few feet in any direction besides up. But all this required energy, and Ananova was quickly running out. When she touched back down she swaggered a bit, and Slade had to put his hand on her back for support.

He went and got a bottle of water. (Bad guys have to survive somehow, right?) He opened it and handed it to Ananova. She drank half the bottle in one swig. SHe breathed deeply regaining her energy. "Thanks." Ananova gasped between breaths. Slade only nodded. Ananova couldn't stand anymore, so she sat down cross-legged on the floor. Slade just stood staring at her. She sat staring at the floor waiting for her energy to return. After a half-hour Slade stirred.

"Feeling better now?" He asked. Ananova nodded and stood up. "Good. Next we move to teleportation. Try to move about a foot to the left." Ananova put her head down and closed her eyes. She delved into her power and pictured herself moving to where Slade told her to. She managed to get halfway there. "That was a good first try. Now, come back and try again." Ananova walked back to where she was. She once again pictured herself moving a foot to her left. This time she managed it. "Excellent Anna. Try teleporting back to where you were."

Ananova managed it with no problem. Now that she new that she could do it, it was easier. They worked on that for a few hours. After that Slade let her quit for the day. "You've progressed faster than I had hoped. Soon, you'll have completely mastered your powers." Ananova smiled, proud of herself. Perhaps being here wasn't so bad after all. 


	5. Worries

Robin paced back and forth in his room, worrying about Ananova. He hoped that she was alright. She was a great little sister. He hated himself for letting her get captured by Slade. He blamed himself for it all. If only he had kept a closer eye on her. Oh, what an idiot he was! Robin banged his fist on his desk. He knew that Slade wanted her for her psychic abilities that not even Ananova knew about. Well, maybe she did now. Or not. Robin could just picture Slade torturing the girl for a show of her abilities that she didn't know she had. It tore him to peices.

Robin walked out of his room to see if anyone had any new information about Slade's whereabouts. He walked out into the main room of the tower to see everyone scattered doing their assignments to find Slade.

"Is there any new information?" Robin asked as he walked to the center of the room.

"Not yet. We're trying as hard as we can. Don't worry, we'll find her." Cyborg reported. Robin rubbed his face with one hand. He was really worried. What would his dad say if he found out? He didn't even want to think about it. Ananova had been through enough over the years. Once the bad guys knew who the man behind the batman mask was, they all wanted to get at him. Most of them were able to get to him by kidnapping Ananova. But through that she always came out ok.

"I can try to find her. Do you want me to?" Raven spoke up. Robin nodded.

"Yeah. Thanks Raven." She just nodded and levitated to her normal position. Robin heard her mutter her usual phrase while meditating. Everyone was silent, watching Raven at her work. Soon a black raven sprouted from her and took off through the wall.

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Ananova sat upright as she felt Raven enter her mind. Luckily Slade didn't see.

"Ananova, are you alright?" Ananova heard Raven say.

"Yeah, I'm alright. How is Robin and everybody?"

"Worried about you. Has Slade hurt you in anyway? What's been going on there?"

"He hasn't hurt me phsyically. I found out that he's my dad. I know it sounds strange, but I know it's true. As for the going's on, he's been teaching me to use my power. I'm psychic ya know."

"Yeah, Robin told us. Slade's your dad!"

"Yeah. I know the whole story. Not only is he my dad, but he killed the people that I thought were my parents. But he's treating me well."

"How far have you gotten in mastering your powers?"

"I can move everything in the fort, levitate, and teleport, but not far. I think that's it."

"Alright. Be careful though, Slade will want to control your powers and he can't do that if you get too powerful." Ananova felt Raven's presence leave her mind. She settled back down and her mind went blank agian.

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Raven opened her eyes about twenty minutes later. She related all that Ananova had told her to the others. Robin's eyes grew wide with shock when Raven told them that Slade was Ananova's father. He just couldn't believe it. But if Ananova knew it to be true, than it was. Ananova was almost never wrong.

But it was still hard not to worry. Robin found himself wonering how Slade was going to keep Ananova's power under control. 


End file.
